Sunlight bathed the prestigious Fire Kingdom Palace in the early morning. Many a man, woman, and child of the Fire Nation awoke the same that day as any other day, despite the festivities of the night before. For certain leaders, it was quite a different awakening. Firelord Zuko stirred groggily in his bedchambers, tired from last night's celebration. There was a festival last night celebrating the third year of peace since the end of the Hundred Year war between the nations, and he had spent the whole night drinking rice wine by the bottle. He had spent the evening cutting loose and chatting away with old Fire Nation friends and relatives about everything but bureaucracy.
A knock sounded on Zuko's bedroom door. Each knock resounded a loud ringing in Zuko's head, emanating from his hangover. "Come in." he said sternly, a hand grabbing his throbbing head. An old, robust servant entered, carrying with him a tied up scroll.
"Firelord Zuko, I have a message for you. Would you like me to read it for you?" the servant asked.
"Go ahead, I guess." Zuko said dryly. The servant nodded, and untied the string binding the scroll together. He cleared his throat, and began to read:
Sifu Hotman,
How are you buddy? Long time no see! A whole year actually. It's kind of hard to believe you're so old now, hitting nineteen and all. Anyways, all of us are going to be having our usual party in Ba Sing Se in a week from now. Hope to see you there; just don't do anything crazy like you did last year. Mai's welcome to come as well, the more the merrier!
your friend,
Aang
Zuko groaned at that last bit of news in the letter, letting his head drop down. "Something troubling you, sir?" the servant implored, curiosity abound on his face.
"You know how it's been. Mai and I haven't exactly been…lovey-dovey lately." he replied.
"Sir, as a family servant who has watched you grow up, might I voice an observation?" The servant asked. Zuko brought his head up in surprise and inspected his servant's face.
"I suppose so." Zuko replied neutrally.
"Well, when you finally came back from your quest to capture Avatar Aang , you used to be so angry and violent. But once you left again to join his in his quest, denying your title and your father, you became more caring and sympathetic, as a person, and as a ruler."
"No offense, but what does that have to do with anything?" Zuko spat at the servant.
"When you loved Mai, you displayed your emotions of hate and frustration all the time. You and Mai felt the same back then. But now that you have changed, the values you seek in yourself and others have changed as well." Zuko's look of confusion left his face, and was now occupied by a face of realization. He gave a faint smile.
"Thank you for making things a little clearer for me…you're a lot like my uncle you know."
"Thank you, Firelord Zuko. I relish the compliment" The servant finished with a smile "Breakfast will be served in the dining hall in ten minutes. I suppose you'll want your things to be ready and packed by tonight for your annual journey?"
"That would be great." Zuko said happily, standing up. The servant gave one last smile, and bowed as he left Zuko's chambers. Zuko grabbed a towel from his closet, and stepped into his bathroom to take a hot bath before he ate. The water was comfortable physically for him as well as mentally, and helped to clear his thoughts.
